


Confessions

by masquerade97



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Coda, Episode: s02e09 Bound By Blood, Fluff, M/M, Not a lot tho, Some angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 20:50:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10048748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masquerade97/pseuds/masquerade97
Summary: There are some things to talk about





	

**Author's Note:**

> first you should read [this tweet from Matthew Daddario](https://twitter.com/MatthewDaddario/status/836396753398157316) that killed and inspired me

Alec stood staring up at the building for far too long. He kept debating whether he should head back to the Institute, but anytime he started to walk, he ended up rounding the block and coming back. He would stop again in front of the building, sometimes attempting the steps, sometimes leaning against the railing for a moment before he felt the need to move again, and he either paced in front of the building or once again started toward the Institute, only to find himself, once again, in front of Magnus’ building.

With a sigh, Alec finally steeled himself and walked up the steps. He rehearsed what he wanted to say on the way to the penthouse, but he still found himself hesitating at the door. He had been letting himself in recently, but that didn't seem appropriate, given the circumstances.

When he knocked, he could hear footsteps within the loft. They paused more than once, but nonetheless found their way to the door.

“Alexander,” Magnus said, a note of surprise in his voice, as he pulled the door open. “You've learned to knock.”

Alec didn't miss the distant tone Magnus was using. He elected not to mention it. “I came to talk to you.”

Magnus surveyed him for a moment before standing aside and jerking his head to gesture for Alec to enter. 

Alec entered slowly, his head bowed. He knew what he had to say, but he couldn't make his tongue work under the look Magnus was giving him. 

“You said you wanted to talk,” Magnus said, crossing his arms across his chest. “Talk.”

Alec took a deep breath to steel himself. “I'm sorry,” he said. “I shouldn't have reacted the way I did.”

Magnus lifted his chin, but didn't seem prepared to accept. “Thank you,” he said. “But I'd rather hoped-”

“I shouldn't have gotten angry with you,” Alec continued, finally finding his rhythm. “I was worried about Izzy, and I...” He trailed off, gesturing helplessly. “I took it out on you and I shouldn't have. You didn't know. I know that. I was out of line. I'm sorry.”

One side of Magnus' mouth turned up in a half-smile. “Thank you,” he said. “And I’m sorry I pulled you off Raphael so abruptly,” he added.

“No, you were right,” Alec said. “I shouldn’t have reacted like that. He wasn’t even fighting me.”

Magnus nodded. “And if I see Isabelle out and about in the future, I'll mention it.”

Alec was about to respond when there was a noise from one of the side rooms. He and Magnus both looked in the direction of the sound. 

“Guests?” Alec asked. 

Magnus tilted his head toward the room on his left and said, “Raphael,” before nodding to a different room on his right and adding, “Isabelle.”

Alec's brow furrowed. “What are they doing here?”

“Drying out,” Magnus replied. “Isabelle needs to come down from Yin Fen, Raphael needs to come down from Shadowhunter blood.” He shrugged and walked toward the balcony. “Raphael’s idea, actually. Isabelle agreed when she was in her right mind again,” he said. “Better they do it where they can't sneak off than where we can't keep an eye on them, no?”

“Sounds good to me,” Alec said. He had followed Magnus out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing. 

Magnus raised an eyebrow at him, appraising. “You aren't angry that I'm keeping your sister here?”

Alec had to admit that he didn't like that he hadn't known, but if Magnus had offered, Alec couldn't say he wouldn't have agreed that it was a good idea. And besides, if Isabelle had agreed to it, there wasn’t much he could do about it anyway. “I'll live,” Alec said, glancing over at Magnus. “At least I know where she is. And that she's safe.”

Magnus  _hmm_ ed and looked back over the city, his face falling back into a neutral expression. “I hope you understand that I'd never intentionally keep something from you,” he said. “Not something like this.”

There was something about Magnus' face, the careful neutrality of it, that made Alec think Magnus was more hurt than he was letting on. “I know. I believe you,” he said. “I'm sorry for how I acted.”

Magnus nodded, still staring over the city, looking lost in his own thoughts.

Alec wasn’t sure what to say from there, so he simply stood, looking out over the city. He couldn’t see the Institute from here, and he was glad for it; so much had gone on that he didn’t want to think about what he was going to have to do when he got back. The groups of Shadowhunters he’d sent our earlier had come back empty-handed with news that the attacks had dropped off, at least for now. He hated that any time something too far out of the ordinary happened, it happened quickly and died out before they could make heads or tails of the situation, though it had become obvious Valentine was behind it. If only they could find him.

“Alexander,” Magnus said, sounding like he was repeating himself.

Alec glanced up at him and was immediately caught off guard by the small smile on Magnus’ face.

“I have just the cure for a long day,” Magnus said. “Wait here.” He stepped away from the edge and hesitated, glancing back at Alec with an uncertain expression, their conversation from earlier clearly at the front of his mind.

“I won’t go anywhere,” Alec promised, turning so his back was against the railing. He slid down so he sitting with his back against the brick, crossing his legs at the ankles. Magnus nodded and walked back inside, and Alec found himself staring after him. He could think of a hundred different scenarios that could follow, but he didn’t act on any of them. He simply waited, shifting so he was in a more comfortable position. He could hear movement from inside the loft, glasses being moved, cabinets opening and closing, but he didn’t dwell on it. One of the cats wandered over to him and rubbed against his arm, purring. Alec rubbed the cat’s head absentmindedly.

“You’ve made a friend,” Magnus observed when he walked back out. He had a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses in the other. “Don’t get up,” he added when Alec shifted to do just that, settling himself into a cross-legged position on Alec’s left, facing Alec.

“Wine cures a long day?” Alec asked when he took the glass Magnus offered him.

“It never hurts,” Magnus replied with a shrug. He took a sip from his glass and considered it thoughtfully. “I’ve had this bottle for a long time,” he said. “I was saving it.”

Alec almost, _almost_ , rolled his eyes and asked what about tonight was so special, but he managed to hold his tongue. “What were you waiting for?”

“I don’t know.” Magnus was looking at the bottle with an odd look on his face, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed, as he considered what to say next. Alec could practically see the gears in his mind working. “Camille gave it to me. A long time ago.”

Alec thought the name would make him angry, but he found it didn’t bother him as it might have a few weeks ago. The only thing that bothered him was how pained Magnus looked when he mentioned her. He wanted to ask, but he didn’t want to pry. Instead he took a sip from his own glass and just waited.

“It’s one of the last things I have from her.” When Magnus looked back up at Alec, he smiled. “I guess it just didn’t seem worth it to wait anymore.” He set the bottle down between them and had to shoo the cat away so it wouldn’t knock the wine over.

“Probably a good call,” Alec said, watching the cat trot to a saucer of milk on the other side of the roof.

“The wine?” Magnus asked. “It _is_ good.”

“Oh, sure,” Alec said, turning back to face Magnus. “But I meant sending the cat away.” He shifted again to try to find a more comfortable position (he was starting to think a truly comfortable position didn’t exist on the concrete and brick).

“Oh? Was the Chairman getting in the way of something?” Magnus asked. He leaned forward so there was slightly less room between them, but he didn’t seem aware of the action as he leaned his elbows on his knees and studied Alec’s face with a wry smirk.

Alec had been about to take another sip of his wine, but he huffed a laugh into his glass instead. “I can’t believe you named your cat Chairman Meow,” he said, his voice echoing oddly in the glass before he drained the rest of it.

“And _I_ can’t believe you don’t appreciate the Chairman’s name,” Magnus said. He held up the bottle to refill Alec’s empty glass.

Moments like this never ceased to amaze Alec. There weren’t many of them, but any time he and Magnus had a quiet moment alone to themselves, Alec was struck by just how easy it was for him to simply exist with Magnus. The list of people Alec could banter with, could joke with, could tease, was short enough that Alec could count them on one hand. But somehow, in almost no time at all, Magnus had firmly settled himself on that list, and he clearly had no intentions of leaving it.

“Tell me a story,” Magnus said after a moment.

“A story?” Alec asked. He swirled his wine in his glass as he thought. “What kind of story?”

Magnus shrugged and drained the rest of his wine. “Any story,” he said as he refilled the glass. As he set the bottle back down, his brow creased as he thought better of what he’d just said. “Actually, no. Not any story,” he corrected. “No Shadowhunter stories.”

Alec hesitated, afraid he had missed something. “I’m a Shadowhunter,” he said, confused.

Magnus smiled. “I mean no Shadowhunter bedtime stories,” he said. He leaned back on one hand, the other holding his glass under his nose. He stretched his legs out and settled them over Alec’s, watching carefully for a reaction to make sure he hadn’t overstepped. “Tell me an Alec story.”

Alec stared at the wine in his glass as if he could find an appropriate story there. He didn’t think many of his stories were that exciting – they were typical stories every Shadowhunter had, of runing ceremonies or family get-togethers, weddings or training. Thoughts of the stories Magnus must have to share made Alec think his were too mundane to bother bringing up. He said as much.

“I don’t believe that,” Magnus said, waving off Alec’s concern. “Tell me anything.”

Alec’s thoughts went, oddly, to his bow and arrows. “Well,” he said. “When I was a kid, we lived in Idris for a while.” It wasn’t a very exciting story, but it was better than regular training; Alec told about when he had first picked up a bow and arrow, and how he had been determined to learn how to use them because they were what he had the most trouble with. One day, he had taken a bow and quiver of arrows into the woods to practice, and he’d spent all afternoon practicing by himself until Izzy had finally found him to call him home for dinner.

No, it wasn’t the most exciting story, but it was one Alec liked to think about. He’d managed to hit his target dead-on for the first time that day, though looking back he was sure it was luck rather than skill. He smiled at the memory, and when he glanced up at Magnus, he found the warlock smiling at him, something warm and open on his face and in his eyes, and something in Alec’s mind clicked.

Maybe Magnus did have centuries worth of stories to share, and maybe some of them were more exciting than whatever blockbuster the mundanes were flocking to this week, but he _wanted_ to hear about Alec’s life. He wanted to know about _Alec_. The realization made Alec’s world stand still.

“I love you,” Alec said, before he even realized the words were there for him to say. He looked away quickly when he saw Magnus’ face fall to a surprised expression, though he wasn’t sure why. He didn’t think he was embarrassed, certainly he didn’t think he had anything to be embarrassed about. Maybe he was afraid of a reaction.

“Alexander,” Magnus said softly. Alec felt a hand under his chin and looked back up to meet Magnus’ gaze. There was disbelief there, and more vulnerability than Alec had ever seen from him. “Do you mean that?”

Alec swallowed thickly, almost nervously. But of course he did. Of course he did. “I love you Magnus,” he repeated.

And then Magnus was kissing him, slow and sweet and a hundred other things. Alec felt Magnus’ hand move from his chin to the back of his neck, and he heard the faint _clink_ of a wineglass being set aside.

They broke apart after a few minutes, just a breath of space between them. Alec didn’t miss the fact that Magnus hadn’t spoken yet, but he was strangely calm; as long as Magnus knew he loved him, it seemed, Alec didn’t feel the need to have the sentiment returned. He was content to simply enjoy whatever it was they had. “Tell me a story?” he asked softly.

Magnus smiled. “How about the one about when I fell in love with a Shadowhunter?” he asked, his breath puffing against Alec’s mouth. His eyes were soft when Alec’s eyes flew open to meet them.

“Me?” Alec asked after a moment. His mind had slowed to a crawl, and he didn’t think the world had yet started moving again.

“Of course you, Alexander,” Magnus said, kissing him again. “I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm [over here](http://titlecomingsoon.tumblr.com/) if you wanna talk malec \o/


End file.
